Keeping Watch 2

Excellent work from Pres. Obama on several fronts today.

In an interview with CNN today he admitted that he'd "screwed up" the promotion of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to the cabinet post of health secretary. While clear to casual observers, the admission of mishandling something is a rare mea culpa from a president (especially an immensely popular one).

Also, Pres. Obama truly reached across the aisle to select Sen. Judd Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire, as his commerce secretary. As a skeptical — and admittedly cynical — journalist, I questioned whether the move was actually a naked bid to filibuster-proof the Senate. Those concerns were allayed, however, when New Hampshire's Democratic governor selected Gregg's now former chief of staff Bonnie Newman to fill the Senate vacancy created with Gregg's appointment. Kudos to the president and Gov. John Lynch for truly trying to bridge the divide (even though they don't have to).